World AIDS Day: We’ve Come A Long Way But Black Women Are Still Highly-Impacted
The Root Causes Of The Disparity
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Why is it that Black women in America, who presumably have access to the same resources as all other American citizens, are facing these devastating statics?
The answer: they don’t have the same access.
The reasons HIV/AIDS numbers remain strong in the Black community is that Black people do not have the same access to health care or health education as other communities. MADAMENOIRE took a close look at the root causes of healthcare disparities previously. However, here’s a glance at some of the factors that continue to fuel the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the Black community, as provided by the National Library of Medicine:
- There are fewer primary care physicians in Black neighborhoods.
- Black women are less likely than white women to go in for routine checkups.
- Black women face discrimination and stigmatization in seeking treatment for or asking for information about HIV/AIDS.
- Other STDs and STIs that make one more vulnerable to HIV/AIDs are more prevalent in the Black community.
- Black women are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS at a later date compared to other groups, making treatment less effective.
The above-listed factors are anything but isolated or unrelated. They are each part of the deeply broken medical system that has failed the Black community on multiple levels.
One expert at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine interviewed by NBC News asserts that Black women are not being educated by their medical providers about things like PrEP and antiviral treatment, nor are they being encouraged to get tested and know their status.
